Climbing To Heaven's Junction
Most of us believe that there is a Heaven and a wonderful life after we
leave this earth. I personally was raised in a very loving Christian family.
We attended church weekly and enjoyed worshiping with our family and
friends. In worship, we learned that Jesus came to this earth to forgive us
of our sins. This forgiveness makes our trip to Heaven a simple and easy
path. We all can make this journey by accepting Christ as our Savior.
This last week, I personally experienced the rough and rugged terrain of
climbing Mount Bierstadt. The first thing that comes to my mind what a
rugged path it would be for all of us to approach Heaven's Junction and
then enter into that holy place. The path would be too rocky, steep, high,
and there would be no oxygen. No matter how many times we tried to
make that climb we could never make it. I am so thankful for God's mercy
and grace. It is not determined by our good works or our climbing ability.
Jesus did this for us. How wonderful!
Now here is my experience of trying to climb Mount Bierstadt. If you have
read any of my other stories that I have written, I am blind. I can only see
shadows, light, and dark. Mount Bierstadt's climb starts at approximately
11,650 feet above sea level and reaches 14,060 feet at the top. For any of
you that have done mountain climbing or hiking, just think about doing it
with your eyes closed. This was an amazing experienced. I have run many
marathons and half marathons. This climb was the most trying, hardest,
scary, and exciting feat that I have ever tried.
I am going to try and describe my experience through what I felt with my
hands, feet, what I saw with my mind and, heart, and spirit since not
having physical sight, hearing, and the beautiful smells of the forest and
mountains. Every step for me had a huge risk. The rocks and path was
very steep and unforgiving. This climb was very reflective of what we
experience in our individual lives. Our step through our life entails
stumbling, losing our way, and stopping to decide where we go now. Just
imagine climbing straight up and not knowing where to place your foot
every step of the way. My thoughts were full of fear not knowing if I would
trip or have the loose rocks slide with me. Making a mistake could get me
hurt or hurt others coming up the path after me with the rocks falling.
I was blest with a wonderful, experienced, patient, and caring mountain
guide. She has climbed numerous mountains and has 12 14,000 feet
climbs under her belt. This was the first time she had ever attempted to
help a vision impaired person climb a mountain let alone a 14eer. We
started out at the trail head. It seemed unusual to me that the trail went
downhill at first. My comment to Stephanie was, we are going to have to
just go climb that much higher by going downhill. We came to wooden
bridges to walk on to avoid the swampy ground. Going downhill was okay
because it gave us an opportunity to adjust to the elevation. This hike
started at 11,650 feet above sea level. The air was already very thin for
me being a Missouri boy. We laughed and talked for the first 20 minutes or
so. Then the first big challenge a mountain stream to cross. The stream
was running well with only a few rocks about 3 feet apart to step and
cross over to the other side. Maybe you are thinking just 10 rocks
carefully placed for the hikers to step on, No big deal! Now close your
eyes.
A hiker crossed the stream from the other side. Him and his dog had
already finished the climb and were heading in. He had a hiking pole. He
and Stephanie patiently directed my steps. Yes! I did it without falling in.
The use of the hiking pole gave me a sense of where to step and the
patient coaching made this happen. Thank you, God.
Now the path starts to get steep very quickly. I knew going downhill at
the first was going to come back to haunt us. My first thought was now 3
miles straight up. God give us the strength and keep us safe. I had to
start listening very closely so I would know where to place my foot every
step from then on. What patience Stephanie showed me. The trail was
very narrow so we had to go single file. The terrain caused me to hold on
to her hand, elbow, or shoulder every step of the way. Do you have any
idea the strength it took for her to focus and tell me where to place my
foot every step for 6 hours and 45 minutes. Thank you, Stephanie.
The climb through the woods was beautiful. I could hear the mountain
streams running, listened to the birds, sounds of an animal running
through the timber, and the fresh but thin air. My thought was, “Now this
is the life!” At this point I thought, “Now this will not be bad”. I am a
marathon runner. Bring it on!
Then we get above the tree top and the path is nothing but rocks
everywhere. The rocks are big and small, flat and angled, uneven and
sharp, and then top that off with loose rocks. Every step up is at least a
foot or two. The air is getting thinner. I start to slip and fall because of
the loose rocks. I am starting to doubt my strength and ability to do this.
Stephanie encourages me that I am doing great. We keep going with a
stop every little bit to catch our breath. Now I know why they said to
drink a lot of water the day before. We are taking in fluids and eating
snacks to keep us going. We are meeting other hikers coming back down.
They are encouraging us. They tell me that it is very motivating to see a
vision impaired hiker attempting this climb.
Now another hurdle, the wind is blowing with nothing to stop it. We are
way above the trees. I can hardly hear where to place my foot. I start
slipping almost every other step. Then I fall hard and cut my left hand. It
is time for first aid. It isn't bad but the fall leaves me weaker and dizzy. I
am starting to wonder. “Can I do this?”
A hiker comes by from the top. He says we are about 12,500 feet at this
point. He sees that I am blind. He says this is great but the rocks are
steep, rough, and very difficult the next 1,500 feet. He tells us to give this
some thought about going on. It could be too dangerous with me not
seeing.
I tell Stephanie, “Let’s go on”. I have never been one to want to quit. The
steps are more difficult and higher. I have to stop more to catch my
breath. The dizziness is getting worst. We get to 13,500 and I have
another hard fall. I have to sit to gain my whereabouts and senses. Two
hikers stop and tell us the boulder field is ahead and the rocks are bigger
and every step is going to get extremely hard for me. Stephanie climbs
ahead to take a look at the rocks ahead. I sat on a big rock and listen to a
commercial airplane fly over. My thought is they are not that high above
us. I pray at this point, I ask God what to do? I know that I want to go on
but my body is totally drained. Stephanie comes back and says, it is going
to get a lot tougher. We discuss this. I decide that this is high enough for
my first climb in the Rocky Mountains. I will come back and finish the
climb next time. I have gained a lot of experience. First off, Stephanie
could have finished the climb with no problem. She has amazing strength
and determination.
We start back down. I quickly realize the trip back down is going to be
very tough. When climbing up, I could catch myself easier. Going down, if
my foot slipped I was going to fall. The trip up took 3 hours and 45
minutes. My fear was how long it is going to take to get back.
My legs are exhausted at this point. I can breathe easier going down. I
found all the loose rocks. I fell five times hard going down. The worst fall
was when I lost my balance and started sliding down the mountain on my
back head first. I stopped with my head and shoulders in a hole and my
feet sticking straight up. After sitting for a little to gain my courage back,
here came three hikers going up. A woman offered me her hiking poles.
This was a very nice and loving gesture. I took one of the poles from her.
This was a huge blessing. I could now put the pole down to get an idea for
the size of the step down. WOW! Now the distance we climbed up is
greatly realized. The climb down is harder than the trip up. I can breathe
but my entire body is exhausted. Stephanie has to work harder to get me
to focus on every step down
Finally, we get the mountain stream. My thought is oh no! I am having a
hard time focusing and listening to my instructions. I get half way when I
miss the rock and go into the stream. I laugh and get back on the rock. I
then miss the second one two rocks later. Then the second from the last
rock I miss again. This time I pull Stephanie in with me. We are all wet
but laughing.
Okay, this is good; we are done with the stream crossing. Then it dawns
on me. We have to walk back up hill all the way to the trail head. I must
have asked Stephanie twenty times if she saw the parking lot. We made
it! Yea! We promised the lady that loaned me her hiking pole to put it by
her car. I am so thankful that God brought this woman to our rescue.
I never made it to 14,060 feet and to the top. I am very proud of having
gotten to 13,500 though. I have an amazing respect for the mountain
climbers now. I have never been as tired as when we finished. I am so
thankful to Stephanie and all the other hikers that showed me such
kindness and encouragement. This vision impaired man will be back to
finish and top that mountain.
I am so glad that God doesn't expect us to climb physically to Heaven's
Junction. From being up in the mountains, it gives me a sense of how
peaceful and beautiful Heaven will be. None of us will ever have the
strength to climb Heaven's trail. God will not expect us to climb from the
trail head. He will come get us wherever we are in the mountains, desert,
sleeping, hospital, or wherever we are when it is that time. He will take
us straight to the summit. We will have plenty of air and our legs will be
strong. We will celebrate the success of getting to be on the highest
mountain. All our family and friends that have passed before us will be
there to greet us. We can finally shout out that, we have entered Heaven's
Junction. You too can join me there. Thank you God!
Dr. Dennis W. Atkins
June 2012